Rock My World Canada, chapter 71: Wes Dakus & the Rebels
[Mike Carr is determined to create a catalogue/reference work featuring all kinds of Canadian rock and alternative releases from the past few decades. Check out his a massive volume on Canadian music history entitled Canadian Alternative & Indie Reference and Collector’s Guide. It’s an incredible discography of hundreds of bands. – AC]
Often considered one of the Godfathers of the Edmonton music scene, Wes Dakus was born in Mannville, Alberta in 1938, and moved to Edmonton and formed The Rebels in 1958. in 1964, Dot Records released a pair of singles after changing the band’s name to The Dundeeville Players without their knowledge.
By 1968 Dakus and The Rebels had parted company. In 2006, Minnesota based Super Oldies Records hosted several ‘oldies rock and roll reunions’ in Edmonton in the ’80s and ’90s, and released the definitive Wes Dakus collection, three individual discs that compiled all of his and The Rebels’ hits, as well as out-takes and alternate versions.
Dakus suffered from health complications after a stroke in 2012 and died on August 18, 2013, in Vancouver.
Find out more about this artist and hundreds of other Canadian artists in the softcover edition of Canadian Alternative & Indie Reference and Collector’s Guide. Get your copy here. Follow Mike on Facebook and Twitter.
